Sweet Miracles

Have been MIA these days as I was down with flu since Tuesday, but thank goodness i’m almost back to normal now though nose is still a little stuffy. These 2 days i have been attending this Energy Psychology course conducted by SSTI (Social Service Training Institute) and to my BIG surprise, it’s totally new-agey. The 2 trainers were into things like chakras and energy, and they explained concepts like vibrations, meridians as well as bringing in case studies about mummies, Kirlian photography, Dr Emoto’s water studies. Of cos they had some scientific studies as verification as well, but they also admitted that most of what they are doing have not been scientifically proven… so i guess they are prob new-age pple at heart though using science to make it seem more convincing to other pple.

Anyway, it turns out that I have actually encountered one of the techniques taught before from this talk I attended years ago by one of SY’s clinical advisors. So i guess it’s nothing very new, just that it’s not that widely known. It’s called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT for short) and it is like a DIY version of accupuncture, without the use of needles (YAY!). How it works is that you balance the energies in your body by tapping certain vital points of the body that connects to the meridiens. Well, i haven’t absorbed the technical language yet so i’m just gonna keep it at that. But it seems very fantastic. First, it’s easy to learn and practice. Second, it can be used for all kinds of illnesses, physical and psychological, or just discomforts, like insomnia, depression, anxiety, chronic pain. And since everything is energetically based, you can say that this energy treatment can be used for everything, and the 2 trainers have seen some pretty miraculous recoveries happening cos of this treatment.

Well, i’m not gonna write all that and then not describe to YOU guys what it’s like. Hehe… not sure if you guys would bother to try it, but if you have abt 10 min, why not? At worst, you waste 10 min… and that’s not too bad rite? At best, your problem is fixed! So give it a try and tell me if it works for you ok?

Here’s how it goes. Decide on what is the problem. As I mentioned above, it could be anything, like improving your concentration, memory, or getting rid of some physical discomfort, or increasing your confidence, self-esteem, or anything else. The only criteria is that it should be about yourself and not about anyone else. So things like wanting to have a better relationship won’t work, though you can try “want to feel better abt the relationship”. Get the diff?

Next, using a scale of 0 - 10, with 0 being the problem not existing and 10 being the problem at its worst, decide where your problem is at. This is something like a pre-test, so that you can measure quantitatively if there is any change after the treatment.

Next, drink a cup of water if you haven’t been hydrating yourself properly as water conducts the energy properly.

Now the treatment begins. With palms facing you like a book, hit the inner edges against each other gently so it looks a bit like a karate chop, and while you are doing this, verbalise (you can just do it mentally, but verbalising is more effective) “Even though I have this problem of _____ (fill in the blank with your problem), I love and accept myself fully and completely”. Say this three times.

Next, while thinking of this problem, tap the following points about 5-7 times (or more if you wish), either on the left or right side of the body or both, using 1 or 2 fingers.

1) the start of your eyebrow

2) the indentation just beside your eye socket, near the temple

3) below your eye, under the pupil, where there is a small indentation (don’t worry if you can’t feel, just tap the area)

4) under your nose

5) under your lips

6) under your collarbone about 1 inch from the midline of your body

7) the side of your body, about where a line from your arm and a line across your chest would intersect (you can use 3 fingers for this)

8 ) your upper rib area, directly under your nipple, just under the breastbone (use 3 fingers)

9) the outside edge of your thumb, just touching the nail

10) the outside edge of your index finger, just touching the nail

11) the outside edge of your middle finger, just touching the nail

12) the outside edge of your little finger (the ring finger is skipped), just touching the nail

13) the outside edge of your palm where the crease line which forms when you curl your hand into a fist would end

14) the back of your hand between the bones of the little finger and the ring finger, just under the knuckles

Done? Hope you remembered to keep thinking of the problem while doing the tapping. Now where is the problem on the scale of 0 - 10?

Well, usually most pple would find that the problem would have gone down by a few points. So you keep repeating the above sequence of points to tap, until the problem has gone down to your desired number.

Bet some of you are thinking, huh, or raising your eyebrows, or giving some other expression that means skepticism. Ya, it seems too easy to be true, but it has worked for many pple, so try it and see if it works for you too!

One thing though, if you manage to get your problem to a zero from this method, it doesn’t mean the problem is gone forever. Ya, i was a bit disappointed that my flu kept coming back, even though i tried this method a few times. So it could be, as the trainer said, that perhaps the flu infection has already spreaded in my body so it’s too late to really do anything abt it. But aside from that, there could also be other factors why the problem persists or keeps coming back. At least, this technique can provide some form of temporary relief from the problem to some extent, and for a coping technique that doesn’t give side-effects the way western medicine does, and which you can do on your own, it’s not half bad!

So try it yah… tell me how it goes. I can’t wait to try it on my clients next Mon! Of cos, Mr Gua Gua wld be my first guinea pig tonight… heh heh…

There are other techniques taught as well, but we spent most time on this one, perhaps cos it’s a bit complicated to learn the points for tapping, and also there was a lot of Q&A on how flexible we can be in doing the phrasing, the order of tapping, etc. To keep it simple, just stick to the one i described up there and trust that your body will do the work. The latter is the most fundamental principle on how this technique works. In fact, the interesting thing is whether or not you believe if the problem can be solved, this technique will work. Even if you do the tapping and keep thinking negatively, this problem will always be around, blah blah…. as long as you are focused on the issue that is bothering you, the tapping will send signals to the body to harmonise the energies in a positive way. So whether you think positively or negatively, the body will always respond in a positive way to do the healing cos the body instinctively wants to be healthy and whole.

One of the trainers once commented to another class that it is like tapping into God’s power. TAPPING into God’s power, geddit? And one of the participants reflected on that and said, if we are tapping into God’s power when we are really tapping on ourselves, then it’s like God is within all of us. I REALLY like her take on it!  

Anyways, i have to say again, just TRY it. I have only tried it twice myself and i’m definitely going to try it for more things, for myself and other pple. That’s how i’m going to know for sure if this technique is really as good as the trainers say it is. If you guys try it and let me know the results too, then i’ll get even more feedback on this technique. Even if the results are negative, let me know too… perhaps with your help, i’ll be able to figure out under what circumstances does it work, and not work.

Try ok? Will be looking forward to your comments!

Btw this course is fully sponsored by VCF (subsidy for VWO staff) and SY, so i got to attend this for FREE! At first i was too paiseh to ask SY to sponsor the remaining fees after discount, so i just asked for them to sponsor half, cos this course is very relevant to our focus on mind body medicine. And they agreed… aiya, only $75 leh. Then during the course, i talked to 2 participants who were fully sponsored by their organisation (one of them WITHOUT the VCF subsidy, so it’s the total fees of $300+!), and one said that our organisations do get training funds from the govt. After that, i had the courage (and thick skin) to ask for the remaining $75 to be sponsored too. Approved! Yehh…. this is really a case of , ask and you shall receive.

Now i wonder if i have the guts and thick skin to ask for sponsorship of my intro to art therapy course next week as well…. hehe, not sure if i shall. Let’s see if the universe gives any indication in the next few days!

Btw, the 3 of us will be going for Virgo cruise this weekend with Mr Gua Gua’s family and co. But Mr Gua Gua promises there will be plenty of exclusive family time… so YAY! Haven’t had a family holiday since the Europe escapade, and that was not a proper one since Mr Gua Gua was mostly at work, so we are all looking forward to it. It’s quite pricey actually… $1.2 K for 3 of us, including little boy cos they count by head and there is no child price. But considering the convenience of all the facilities being so accessible, and i don’t need to have a headache over little boy’s food cos they have children’s buffets there, i guess it’s worth it. Yippee… can’t wait.

PS: For those of you who know Sohan… hey, doesn’t Sanjaya from AI bear an uncanny resemblance to him? Just noticed it after his newest haircut… Mr Gua Gua thinks so too! Haha….